LINGONBERRY CARAMEL OATMEAL (VEGAN, GF)

Hello from the forest! That’s where I’ve been today searching for bright red berry gems. And I found some, but not enough to make this delicious lingonberry caramel oatmeal (vegan, gf). Luckily I have a precious berry stash in the freezer so I could make this yummy porridge. If you don’t have lingonberries, you can always use cranberries as well!

Lingonberries and caramel sauce is a classic dessert combo, which I love to have for brekkie, too. And even with vegan caramel sauce, it’s not an unhealthy breakfast, because the caramel is made of whole food ingredients. It’s a pretty basic one, and it’s one of the first super dreamy sweets I learned to make when changing my diet to plant-based: dates blended with plant-based milk, nut butter and pinch of salt.

This lingonberry porridge is creamy made with thick oat milk, and good quality gluten-free oats. We eat oatmeal almost every day in autumn and winter, and I like to vary it up a bit by adding shredded coconut, using buckwheat flakes or even rice flakes together with oats and also a swirl of nut butter. To make the brekkie even sweeter, I suggest smashing a ripe spotted banana in the porridge. So yummy!

This oatmeal will work with any berries, but I find the combo of tart lingonberries and caramel irresistible. Cranberries will work perfectly too! I’ve also eaten this oatmeal with blueberries and raspberries, the same caramel sauce and some cream on top…it was so good I almost cried (I often get emotional when I’m eating good food 🙂 ).

½ cup lingonberries, cranberries or any berries you like (you can put more if you want)

pinch of salt

optional: a few tablespoons of shredded coconut

optional: for sweetness: a ripe mashed banana or half a banana

Caramel sauce

5 pitted dates

¼ cup plant-based milk

1 tbsp nut butter

pinch of salt

To serve: more berries

Instructions

Blend caramel sauce ingredients in a food processor until it's smooth. Add more milk if needed to make the consistency you like. I use a sieve to make the sauce totally smooth and use the pieces of date (peels) in my oatmeal.

Cook oats in oat milk and water in a pan medium-high heat for five-ten minutes (according to package directions) stirring often until porridge like consistency formed.

Add pinch of salt, berries, shredded coconut and stir well. You can smash the berries to get a lovely color.

To serve: add more berries on top and drizzle lots of caramel sauce on top.

If you want to eat this on the go, just layer oatmeal, berries and caramel sauce in a jar and enjoy!